Taking off: induction through the eyes of a graduate

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“For after we start, we never lie by again”
(Whitman, Hass and Ebenkamp, 2010)

Two years ago I was sitting in a lecture theatre for an induction talk. My English at that time was not perfect so I chose to ignore the speeches and concentrated my thoughts on finding a good frying pan. I am Chinese by the way, it was my first time attending an English lecture and frying pans are a big part of my life.

Over the past two years I have worried about my group work, exams, mock tests, essays and dissertations but never, ever worried that one day, this student life would finish. That was until last week whilst in the library I swiped my student ID card and it said EXPIRED!!!

Induction

On Tuesday 22 September 2015 Dr Darryn Mitussis (Undergraduate Programmes Director) gave a talk to all new undergraduates. He presented the following question to the audience:

“What you will end up with after 3 years of student life?”

During the lecture Darryn showed the audience a picture of an ice-seller on the streets of India and also asked :

“How can you apply your knowledge to differentiate yourself from the ice-seller?”

He told the audience that they would find out in three years time.

I guess the answer is, what we are learning is useless if the knowledge gained cannot solve the problems faced. This structure of knowledge has been constructed in my mind so that I am able to apply it to all types of problem solving.

Structure of Knowledge. Photograph by K’

I wish Darryn had given me the same induction talk this time two years ago. I would have thought about why frying pans are important for Chinese students, how to target and market fry pans to make them more competitive, and how to make money to buy my frying pan. However thanks to Darryn, it’s not too late to realise it.

Guys, enjoy and cherish the student life in QM, and please find out why you are here and where you want to go tomorrow, then you won’t worry about that one day when your student life ends, as you prepare to take off.

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Published by K'

I love shooting, so you can call me photographer.
I like raining days, and sunny days.
But my DSLRs prefers sunny days.
So I am confused.
MSc Marketing, Queen Mary University of London.
View all posts by K'